Honors Program

The Honors Program delivers an enriched and stimulating education to highly motivated and intellectually curious students by offering interdisciplinary and challenging courses that will provide students with a holistic view of the world. The Honors Program experience affords students the opportunity to develop advanced knowledge and skills that will prepare them to exercise a higher level of critical thinking, to communicate with various and diverse audiences, and to successfully engage local, national, and global communities.

The Honors curriculum is designed to allow students to develop this knowledge and these skills through a collection of courses that represent General Studies coursework, courses required for a student’s degree, and elective courses. To accomplish this goal, each Honors student must take the Honors Core (courses listed below) in addition to at least 12 credits from one of the nine “field curricula” (also listed below). The field curricula are designed to meet the curricular needs of students from a variety of majors and programs throughout MSU Denver. Students are free to choose any of the nine field curricula, but most students choose the field corresponding with their chosen major, as it is designed to minimize the accumulation of “extra” credits above and beyond the required number for the degree. Students in the Individualized Degree Program, or programs or majors that do not explicitly fall under any of the field curricula are encouraged to work with the Honors Director to create a specialized field curriculum from the listings of cross-listed courses. Students entering the Honors Program with at least 60 credits will have their 1000- and 2000-level course requirements waived and may complete the program by taking only the 3000- and 4000-level courses in the Honors Core and their chosen field curriculum.

Students must maintain a 3.25 GPA to remain in good standing in the Honors Program. Admission to the program is based on an application that includes high school or college GPA, standardized test scores, a writing sample, and letters of recommendation, and is evaluated by the Honors Director and two Associate Directors.